In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan opened up about the fascinating backstory behind one of India’s most iconic advertisements — the ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’ campaign. The actor revealed that the now-legendary commercial almost never saw the light of day due to an initial rejection from Coca-Cola’s top brass.
Aamir Khan reveals unknown origin story behind iconic ad ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’; reveals it was initially rejected
The idea for the ad, Khan shared, was originally pitched by his longtime friend and Lagaan director, Ashutosh Gowariker. “Ashu came to me with this quirky idea featuring a Tapori character — something people loved after my roles in Rangeela and Ghulam. The character walks into a shop asking for a cold drink and keeps getting different sodas until he finally snaps and says, ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola,’” Aamir explained.
Despite Khan’s excitement, the pitch was shot down by then Coca-Cola marketing head Sanjeev Gupta. “He didn’t like it. Said Atlanta would reject it too,” Aamir recalled. However, couple of years later, when Shripad Nadkarni replaced Gupta, the same pitch was revived. “Shripat loved it! That’s when we called Ashu again to develop it fully,” Aamir said.
Writer-director Neeraj Vohra, best known for his work on Bollywood comedies, was brought in to write the dialogues. “Neeraj added the now-iconic punchlines — from Bena Terrace to atom bomb of photos — all that cool Tapori flavor came from him,” Aamir noted with emotion, adding that Vohra’s knack for humour made the ad unforgettable.
This is interesting! Aamir Khan says that ‘Thanda Matlab Coca-Cola’ (the line, the concept) was director Ashutosh Gowariker’s idea (who directed the ad, of course). The ad is widely credited to Prasoon Joshi, the then national creative director of McCann Erickson India. pic.twitter.com/szlL2AZGZZ
— Karthik ???????? (@beastoftraal) July 7, 2025
Besides that, Aamir also revealed that he worked with Prasoon Joshi in this particular ad, as he also praised him during the interview, especially for emotional classics like Luka Chuppi and Taare Zameen Par’s Maa.
Meanwhile, Aamir Khan is currently riding high on the love that is being showered on Sitaare Zameen Par which hit theatres on June 20.
Also Read: Aamir Khan honours Vishnu Vishal and Jwala Gutta by naming their newborn daughter Mira
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